Centennial, Colo. – Nov. 17, 2009 – The stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) return to movie theaters across America this holiday season with special guest “Weird Al” Yankovic as they take on the bizarre animated “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and other classic Christmas shorts and commercials in RiffTrax LIVE: Christmas Shorts-Stravaganza! The exclusive, in-theater event will be broadcast LIVE on Wednesday, Dec. 16th with a pre-recorded encore on Thursday, Dec. 17th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern / 7:00 p.m. Central / 6:00 p.m. Mountain / 8:00 p.m. Pacific (tape delayed). Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy (MST3K‘s Tom Servo) and Bill Corbett (MST3K‘s Crow T. Robot) will zing their wisecracking comedy commentary LIVE from the California Center for the Arts, Escondido at a wonderfully warped collection of holiday shorts including a hilarious musical short extolling the virtues of pork.
Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com. For a complete list of theater locations and prices, please visit www.FathomEvents.com (theaters and participants are subject to change).
Presented by NCM Fathom and The Onion, RiffTrax LIVE: Christmas Shorts-Stravaganza! will include a special guest appearance by “Weird Al” Yankovic joining the holiday riffing festivities. Yankovic has sold more than 12million albums – more than any other comedy act in history – and recorded more than 150 parody and original songs, including “Eat It,” “Smells Like Nirvana,” “Amish Paradise” and the viral video phenomenon “White & Nerdy” from his most recently released album, “Straight Outta Lynwood.”
“I can’t think of a better way to honor the true meaning of Christmas than by making stupid jokes over ridiculous film shorts,” said Yankovic.
RiffTrax LIVE: Christmas Shorts-Stravaganza! attendees will receive an early holiday present from the RiffTrax team – a URL and code will be revealed at the end of the event for five free digital goodies: a RiffTones holiday song, two downloadable shorts, an autographed digital photo of Mike, Kevin and Bill and a Christmas desktop wallpaper.
“Sometimes good things come in small packages – these shorts are amazing and hilarious – not to mention festive,” said Michael J. Nelson, RiffTrax creator and former host and writer of the Emmy-nominated, Peabody Award-winning MST3K.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 spent a total of 11 seasons on Comedy Central and the Sci Fi Channel in the late 1980s through 1999, featuring a man and his robot sidekicks who are trapped in space forced to watch terrible science fiction B-movies. They make fun of each film, providing hilarious commentary or “riffing.” Nelson created RiffTrax in 2006 to continue the “riffing” on blockbuster films such as “Star Wars: Episode 1” and “Star Trek.” RiffTrax are downloadable online and are played along with the film, providing a unique and amusing commentary throughout the course of the movie. The RiffTrax team made their big screen debut in August with RiffTrax Live: Plan 9 from Outer Space.
RiffTrax LIVE: Christmas Shorts-Stravaganza! appears on the big screen in high definition with Cinema Surround Sound in 482 select AMC Entertainment Inc., Celebration! Cinema, Cinemark Holdings, Inc., Clearview Cinemas, Cobb Theatres, Georgia Theatre Co., Goodrich Quality Theaters, Hollywood Theaters, Kerasotes Showplace Theatres, Malco Theatres, Marcus Theatres, National Amusements and Regal Entertainment Group movie theaters, as well as The Carolina (Asheville, NC), and Palace Cinema 9 (South Burlington, VT), through NCM’s exclusive Digital Broadcast Network.
“Watching classic Christmas programs is a tradition that many consider the perfect way to kick off the holiday season,” said Dan Diamond, vice president of NCM Fathom. “Add the RiffTrax guys and Weird Al’ Yankovic to the mix and it immediately turns into a hilarious exclusive event that promises to ring in the holidays with laughter in movie theaters nationwide.”
About National CineMedia
National CineMedia (NCM) LLC operates the largest digital in-theatre network in North America through long-term agreements with its founding members, AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC), the three largest theatre operators in the U.S., and through multi-year agreements with several other theatre operators. NCM LLC produces and distributes its FirstLook pre feature program; cinema, lobby and online advertising products; comprehensive meeting and event services and other entertainment programming content. NCM LLC’s national network includes approximately 16,800 screens of which approximately 15,400 are part of the company’s Digital Content Network (DCN). NCM LLC’s network covers 171 Designated Market Areas (49 of the top 50). During 2008, approximately 660 million patrons attended movies shown in theatres currently included in the network (excluding Regal Consolidated Theatres). National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: NCMI) owns a 41.5% interest in and is the managing member of NCM LLC. For additional information, visit www.ncm.com or www.FathomEvents.com.
About RiffTrax.com
RiffTrax.com is a high-growth Web 2.0 business featuring the hilarious DVD commentaries of Michael J. Nelson – Star of the legendary Mystery Science Theater 3000. At RiffTrax.com, for just a couple of dollars each, you can download feature-length commentaries by Mike (plus other stars of MST3K and guest celebrities such as “Weird Al” Yankovic, Neil Patrick Harris, Joel McHale and Fred Willard) and listen to these “RiffTrax” in sync with your favorite DVDs or pre-synched via Video On Demand. It’s like watching a movie with your funniest friends. RiffTrax also has a growing interactive community, and has just launched iRiffs, where anyone can upload their own commentary on any movie or online media and sell it to fans worldwide. For more information, visit www.rifftrax.com or www.legendfilms.com
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